nfreeman

Well, I opened myself up. I was vulnerable. And look at what happened.

I agree with both of you that players mature at different rates, and that there is no reason to dump Mitts for a low draft pick or otherwise make any kind of hasty decision on him. The Sabres should keep him in Rochester and let him sink or swim until they are forced to give him a real contract. That will be the decision point. What I am objecting to is the notion that Mitts represents a viable option in Buffalo this year. @GASabresIUFAN has, on a number of occasions, including upthread, mentioned Mitts as one of the Sabres' prospects who could play a meaningful role on the Sabres this year. I think there is a less than 10% chance of that happening -- and it's closer to zero than 10%. (To be clear, @GASabresIUFAN isn't the only one doing so -- he's just the one who has triggered me this time.) I will also note that based on the stats and on our SabreSpace eyewitnesses, @dudacek 's description of Mitts' play in Rochester seems a bit generous. When I combine the numbers, the views of those who watched in Rochester, and his complete inability to do anything at the NHL level over a 2-season period, I get pretty pessimistic about him. Also, Connolly, although also an underachiever early in his career, was about a million times better and more effective than Mitts was at Mitts' age -- Connolly had already put up 41- and 45-point seasons by age 21. Of course, YMMV.

Why not let Cozens battle it out with a roast beef sandwich? In all seriousness, this assumes that Mitts is a viable candidate for #3C, which he isn't. For that matter, he almost certainly isn't a viable candidate for an NHL roster spot next season, let alone #3C. I think we need to move away from the mindset of "we can count on Mitts to become a real contributor at the NHL level" and toward the mindset of "Mitts is probably a washout and anything the Sabres ever get from him, either as a Sabre or in trade, is a bonus." And we need to understand that it is critical that JB, or preferably the new GM, brings in other candidates for #2C and #3C in addition to Cozens.

My family and I didn't have the antibodies either. Might be for the best, as there is still much unknown. In any case I'm glad you were able to get tested. Has anyone else tried to get tested but been unable to do so?

So -- they were unable to get tests? Or were they able to get them?

Serious question: has anyone here tried to get a virus or antibodies test in the last couple of weeks but not been able to do so?

I'll say it: I am cautiously optimistic about TT and will predict that he becomes the #3 RW by the end of the season and shows enough to make most here optimistic about developing into the #2 RW. I think he's got the physical tools and the drive to get there. And I'd be pretty psyched to watch a 3rd line of Mojo-Cozens-TT.

It looks like a number of people are interested in something along these lines: https://driving.ca/audi/auto-news/news/people-keep-breaking-new-illegal-cannonball-run-records-during-lockdown

^^^ Pilut and Tage?

I don’t think I will ever tire of the giraffe gifs.

FFS. Everyone chill out in here please. And before posting something nasty or disrespectful or accusatory, please read it, think about it, and tone it down. I get that external stresses have made it more difficult, but it's important to converse in a friendly and respectful manner. The board is a place where everyone should want to come for a pleasant diversion in the form of friendly conversation.

Oooooooooohhhh. That stings. But Earl was worth a few minutes of your time on YouTube IMHO.

Well you had to like Earl Campbell, innit?

No one is saying he’s as good as Chara — only that Chara continued to develop and improve even while he was the same age as Risto.

So my wife, my daughter and I went to a local clinic in upstate NY this afternoon to get antibody tests. It was pretty simple and well-run -- we didn't need an appointment, we were able to check in and provide insurance info on our phones while waiting in the car, and they called us into the building when they were ready for us. We should have the results in the next couple of days. (We've been out of NYC for about 10 weeks, and haven't had any symptoms other than ordinary-course sniffles now and then, and the incidence of the virus is quite low where we are, but we still would like to know our antibody status, as sooner or later we'll need to return to NYC, the kids want to see their friends, etc.) Here's the kicker: the doctor who examined us immediately before the blood tests was wearing his mask pulled down below his nose! WTF?!

Possibly, although we of course really have no idea. My point about whether TP will trust JB to make this kind of significant move by himself is in part based on Tim Graham's recent comments in the Athletic to the effect that TP was/is pretty close to firing JB.

I think Risto, like the team generally, was unquestionably better in the D-zone this season, and I'm inclined to credit RK's defensive structure and power of positive thinking. I continue to feel that Risto is a flawed but good and valuable player that has been stuck in a terrible situation throughout his career, that I'd like him to stay and be part of the resurgence that I really freaking hope is coming, and that if they trade him, it had better be for a really GD good C or RW. It will be interesting to see whether TP allows JB to trade Risto without some other hockey person signing off on the deal.

Well, race is only a factor if the driving behavior is the same -- i.e. if a higher percentage of the members of group A, relative to group B, drives in a way that is more likely to result in getting pulled over, then those group A members are not getting pulled over because they are members of group A and not group B -- they are getting pulled over because of the way they drive. I don't doubt that there are some cops who are more likely to pull over members of group A because they have issues with group A, but I think we need to be clear that if group A members are pulled over more frequently than group B members, it's not necessarily because they are group A members.

So he’s 28, and, depending on whether you believe elite prospects or Wikipedia, either 5’10”, 172 lbs or 5’11”, 183 lbs. He’s a LW and shoots left. He was 7th in the SHL in goals each of the last 2 years, with 17 per year. OK, sure. Why not?

Losing your not-that-expensive-but-not-that-cheap-either earbuds, knowing that they are somewhere in the house or the car but being unable to find them, and knowing that they will turn up immediately after you buy new ones.

Of course, the Sabres had lost 6 out of 7 when the plug was pulled, so...

https://hockeysverige.se/2020/05/18/lamnade-farjestad-ryktas-till-nhl Google translate version:

Promising vaccine developments: https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-says-initial-covid-19-vaccine-results-are-positive-11589805115?mod=hp_lead_pos2

Some more great quotes from MJ: - when asked who gave Sam Smith all the inside dirt for his “Jordan Rules” book: “It was Horace [Grant, who strenuously denied it].” - Immediately after a legendary 1992 dream team scrimmage, pitting a group led by MJ against a group led by Magic, with plenty of trash-talking between MJ and Magic, and MJ taking over down the stretch for the win, without a trace of a smile or good humor, to Magic: “how’d you like that ass-whuppin’ we just gave y’all?”

I will just add that there is NFW that JB was going for DFL in his 1st year. He tried to improve the team and missed by a mile. Even though they ended up with Dahlin, that team was JB's first NHL team and it was terrible. Actually, 1 more thing: I think I believe Tim Graham that TP was very close to firing JB.